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Splitting Prednisone dose

Posted , 14 users are following.

audrey80537
audrey80537

Has anyone ever split their daily Prednisone dose?  

Upon the suggestion of my GP I have done this.  Taking 14 in the morning and 5 in the evening.  I'm thinking I did better with all of it together.  Is there a way to get back to what I was originally doing?

Audrey

1 like, 26 replies

26 Replies

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  • LisaCACO
    LisaCACO audrey80537

    Posted

    I split mine. 15mg early morning and 10mg early afternoon. who knows if it works better or not. 
    • Oregonjohn-UK
      Oregonjohn-UK LisaCACO

      Posted

      I'm down to 6 mg after 12 months and experiencing some stiffness when I wake up - not painful,  I then take my dose at breakfast which I tend to have within half an hour of waking.  The stiffness goes after about 2 hours.  For me, I would think, splitting the dose would cause a delay in the stiffness in the morning going - as I believe I'm around the maintainance dose?  I have no problem sleeping even in the hot and humid weather.
  • EileenH
    EileenH audrey80537

    Posted

    Quite a few people split their dose for various reasons - often USA doctors suggest it. Some do it to get better am relief from stiffness, some to avoid side effects of one sort or another. 

    There is a study that shows there is less adrenal suppression when you take 15mg in the morning (at 8am I think) than if you take 5mg at night - sorry, I have read it but can't get the reference at the moment. That is the basis of the insistence by so many doctors you should take your pred in the morning - but there isn't a lot of point if that doesn't work as well for you for whatever reason than taking it in the very early am or at night. It is probably more important for people needing pred for other reasons or only needing a lower dose and heading for a hopeful end to taking pred.

    To get back to where you were - take your dose as 14/5, 15/4, 16/3, 17/2. 18/1 to smooth out the change.

    • Fixmecc
      Fixmecc EileenH

      Posted

      I'm currently on 20 mg of prednisone. I find that it works best for me to take 5 mg every 5 to 7 hours. My question is, does this negate the effects of the medicine in anyway and lowering my inflammation because I do not take it all at once? Please advise. Thank you.

    • EileenH
      EileenH Fixmecc

      Posted

      If that is how it works best for you - then obviously it isn't negating the effect - the pred is to manage the symptoms that's all, it does nothing for the illness itself. 

      What some experts would suggest is that it might increase the side effects - the longer the body is without any pred they feel the better and most of it is washed out via the kineys within a few hours, leaving ever lower amounts for the rest of the 24 hours. You are always topping it up.You might also find it more difficult to reduce the dose - which you must at some point, you don't stay on 20mg for more than a few weeks.

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